Where it is!!
14 OctYes, I finished my visits to Progressive Physical Therapy yesterday. After seven and a half months, or 32 weeks, however you’d rather say it. (32 weeks is actually NOT 8 months … remember, 26 weeks is a half-year or six months)
But am I ALL that I can be?? Is my arm perfect?? NO. But it is a lot farther along than we ever thought it would be. I will always appreciate what Pam and the folks at Progressive did. They definitely went over and above!! For months! The last few weeks we’ve prepared for this and done things to get me ready to continue at home. My elbow bends much more than Dr Mezzanotte ever thought it would … Even he is impressed! The shoulder is surprisingly stiff and has been the focus of therapy for weeks now. It, too, has come a long way. And it can go farther. That all depends on ME!!!
So, that’s where it is! I don’t go back to the doctor until next month. He hasn’t even mentioned joint replacement the last two times I’ve been there. I know that is out there, but I’m hoping it is a long way down the road!!!
Did the devil try to keep me from EBC yesterday??
10 OctI believe he DID!! The weekend started like any other weekend in which we were making a way-too-short trip to Easley and Clemson. Diana had to work in Columbia on Friday. And, she had to come back to Florence before we could leave. So Drew and I met her at her office and we drove straight through to Greenville to meet Krissy and Kristina for supper. Therefore, it was late when we got back to Mom and Dad’s. We were all tired. Instead of going to the grocery store after the two K’s went back to Clemson, I decided to get up and go early on Saturday. That’s when things got interesting …
Early Saturday morning, I went out to go to the grocery store to get the rest of the stuff for our tailgate. Imagine my surprise when I found the front left tire on the van COMPLETELY FLAT. COMPLETELY. AS A PANCAKE. Drew got up and helped me get the tire off of the van and I took Mom’s car to go run my errands and get the tire fixed.
Errands went smoothly … Tire repair did not. I finally found the Goodyear place in Easley to be the only place open and able to fix the tire. And they were SLAMMED. The guy told me it would be 45 minutes. I left the tire so I could take the groceries home and possibly eat breakfast. I returned about 50 minutes later knowing the tire would be ready … HA HA HA!! That didn’t work.
The guy asked me if I wanted to plug or patch it. It was a small nail, but I knew a patch would be safer so that is what I asked for. After 90 minutes, I finally got the repaired tire. Took it home, put it back on the van, and away we went!! (I am thankful this tire went flat in my parent’s driveway, not on the road Friday. I think it went flat quickly overnight, because the tire didn’t appear to be damaged. Lots to be thankful for on this one!)
We went to the tailgate, had a TON of Krissy and Jesse White’s friends come over, and went to the game. I checked the tire again before we left for the game and it was great!! 35 lbs of air in it!! We went to the game, hustled back afterward to get on the road, and … you guessed it … the tire was almost flat again!! I had a can of leak-stop in the van and put most of it into the tire. We decided to ride back through Easley and hope the place was still opened. But it wasn’t. And by the time we got to Easley it was slack again.
Now would be a good time to confess that one of my great fears is car trouble. In May, 1992, I moved far away from home and have been driving for hours to get home ever since. And one of my great worries is what would happen if we were stranded on the road in the middle of nowhere . Now, with my arm situation as it is, that fear is even greater. Don’t get me wrong: I pray, I try to leave it at His altar. But I’m being honest here … I worry.
Before Diana and I could debate the possibility of trying to go home on the fake spare, Mom called back. She said she and Dad would really feel better about this if we came home and took her car and figured this thing out later in the week. Dad can’t ride in her car, so she only uses it when she is running errands while someone is home with Dad (most of her driving now is in the wheelchair accessible van).
I look back and know God was in all of this … Both times this tire started it’s shenanigans, we were in a place where help was readily available. I probably never would’ve asked Mom and Dad to do that … And God took care of that, too!
I know flat tires happen … But I do believe the devil didn’t want me to preach yesterday. And I believe it even more after hearing some of the responses to it!! The devil tries to win victories all around us every day … Keep praying that he WON’T!!!!
Love Really IS the Answer
4 OctLove is a verb … Love is the KEY … Love is the GREATEST COMMANDMENT … Love is GOD … Love is a many-splendored thing … Love is a way of life… And, all we need is love!!!
Ok, I stole that last one from John Lennon, but this list can go on and on. LOVE is a WEAPON in spiritual warfare??? Yes it is!! You’ve probably heard me say that just as God inhabits praise, I believe the devil inhabits our conflict when we disagree in ungodly ways. And, by that I mean when we allow our own pride or anything else to get in the way of God’s will. And the answer … the ultimate affront to the devil’s schemes … is LOVE.
When we love each other with God’s kind of love, there is NO WAY the devil can wedge himself in. I believe that frustrates his plans and it helps the kingdom of God grow and flourish.
So, once again, if you ask me … Love is the ANSWER!!!!
Love your enemies
30 SepFred Sanford encapsulated a true worldview when he misquoted Jesus Christ by saying “do unto others BEFORE they do unto you.”. If there is one thing this world believes in, it’s that. Sadly, many in the church believe it, too!
Sometimes that mantra is used to justify being mean to others. Sometimes it’s used to justify covert operations and the betrayal of trust. Sometimes it’s just a great excuse because “everybody else is doing it!”
What would Jesus do?? Even better, what did Jesus COMMAND us to do in the Sermon on the Mount?
He said “it’s easy to love your friends and those that love you. I want you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you!”
WOW! The answer, once again, is love. Even if they are throwing stones at you. Even if they are stabbing you in the back. God will reward your love. It is His way and His command!!
So the next time the devil tempts you to hate, pick up an even more powerful weapon: LOVE!!!
Accentuate the Postive
29 SepThere’s a lot to be said for focusing on the positive and moving ahead. Tommy Dowling, a local leadership guru and church consultant, always reminds me to put energy into the positives!! We can focus so much on the negatives we forget to nourish and cultivate the positives. That won’t work in a local church (and it doesn’t work well in ANY business).
Satan gives us plenty of negatives on which we could focus. And he wants us to do just that!! I do believe it’s important to listen to criticism and take an honest look at it. But we cannot bog down in it, just like we cannot ride the wave of praise!! Truth is, we need to focus on the Holy Spirit and His leadership in EVERYTHING WE DO IN THE CHURCH. If we do this, He will put the positives and negatives in the proper perspective, in the proper place.
Henry Blackaby reminded us in Experiencing God to discipline ourselves to “find God where He is at work in our lives AND JOIN HIM!!!” Here’s a challenge for you to do that today!
A Great War is Waging
27 SepThere is a great war waging right now in a variety of locations around the world. One that might seem insignificant is waging in Florence, SC, as we speak. It is not a conventional battle, but one on spiritual realms. For Ebenezer Baptist Church.
God is taking hold of His church in a mighty way and Satan doesn’t like it!! And he is doing everything he can do to pull us away from God and away from each other. He will use pride, greed, power, envy, rage, and everything else we will allow him to use to accomplish this mission. Satan loves to inhabit the conflict of God’s people and he wants to do a real number on us right now. We must not allow him!!
I sit back and watch and it just makes me hurt. I’ve seen Ed, Justin, Pam, and Andi under attack. I’ve watched dear friends of mine come under attack. I’ve seen this church under attack. And I’ve been hit by too many flaming darts myself. The time is NOW church for us to PRAY FOR EACH OTHER!! Dig into God’s word, put on the full armor of God, and DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!!!
Specifically, do not allow Satan to have any strongholds in your life. If we all would do this and get back to loving each other, this entire world would change!!! All starting from an “insignificant spot” on the globe called Ebenezer …
Managing God
26 SepWhat a dangerous title and thought!! How could we EVER manage God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of all that exists!! Author of our Salvation!! And, yet, we try to do even worse things to Him.
Yesterday I referred to events in I Samuel, chapters 4 – 7 concerning the Children of Israel, the Ark of the Covenant, and a really bad plan. It seems Israel decided to go to war against the Philistines. When that didn’t go well, they decided to take the Ark of the Covenant, because it was POWERFUL. It had always dispelled their foes before. That battle brought great devastation on them, and they lost the Ark!!
Why?? Because they planned it and tried to invoke God’s power into their plan! He hadn’t told them to go to war in the first place, and He DEFINITELY didn’t tell them to take the Ark!!
They were without the Ark for 20 years. God didn’t give it back to them until they had purged themselves of their idols and false gods, and realized that without Him, they could do nothing!
EVERYTIME we try to manage God, to invoke His power into our schemes and plans, we are setting ourselves up for miserable failure and a lesson to be learned: We cannot manage God and shouldn’t EVER dare to try!!!
One Pastor's Perspective 